Reading Week 1

In the introduction to the book Convergence of Culture the author wanted to highlight the shift that has been taking place over the past few decades in media and how it is incorporated into society. This mainly has to do with the invention of computers and the internet. In contemporary times media was bound to whatever form of medium it was in. Paintings were to remain on canvass, motion pictures where captured on cellophane, pictures were taken on film, words where written on paper, and so forth. Now with the digital age all these forms of art and culture and be brought together in one place on the computer.

Forms of media that are created and used on computers are known as new media. I use new media all the time on my computer to write my blog, instead of paper, view billions of photos on web sites like Flicker, or watch millions videos of things on YouTube. This change in how media is presented has made it much more accessible to people. Because of these examples, as well as dozens of others I could come up with, I believe that the internet has been the single greatest informational revolution since the first written words. Not only does the internet and computers allow for anyone in the world to access information, but it also has changed how we interact with that information.

For the longest time media moved in a single direction, from the producer to the consumer.  The only true way the producer knew if the public liked there was if people actually bought and consumed it. Producers would also and still use focus groups in order to test their products, but those are only used in prerelease production. But due to the fact now through computers producers of media have not only changed how they deal with their customers but also how they distribute their products as well.

Soon, may experts agree, all our media will come from a single hypothetical computing device that is simply referred to as a “black box.” I would have to agree with this assessment. In some ways this “black box” is already here. I consume the majority of my entertainment media on the computer. I very rarely watch TV because I can watch when it is more convenient for me with fewer commercial interruptions. In addition I can stream my favorite radio stations online anywhere in the world as opposed to using AM and FM transmits. I also get my news and information the same way as well.

Now that almost every single person in the world has access to a computer the ebb and flow of information in society has fundamentally shifted. News can now move around the world at the speed of light and to many more people. Through the use of new media we are able and will continue to educate and learn at a much faster pace.